The Frost Before The Storm
by FlamelsCross98
Summary: In the mountains of Scotland, a boy faces the imminent threat of the Dark Lord. In the ice caps of the north, guardian spirits protect the children of the world. And in the night sky, a being watches over the two, knowing that it's time for the two forces to crash together. And what better vessel than the immortal teenager, Jack Frost? - No pairings, no OCs
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. So this is my new story, in a new fandom - not really sure how well I write these characters, but it's worth a shot.**

**This is only the first chapter, and I've already written the next... four(?). I'm just posting this now to see if there's anything important I've missed with the characters, and how interested people might be.**

**So enjoy!**

**(Oh, and believe it or not, I don't own these - shock horror)**

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"Has anyone seen Jack?"

The question hung in the silence. Bunny looked away, while Sandy stared at the floor.

"Not since the last meeting…" Tooth answered him, wings beating nervously.

North rested his head on his fist speculatively. "I wonder why he never joins us?"

At this, Sandy ceased his study of the floorboards and waved his arms. Once he had the others' attention, golden images flitted over his head rapidly in his attempt to convey a message.

"Uh, Sandy mate," Bunny began. "We can't understand it when you talk so quick."

The golden man looked put out for a minute, before trying again in a more controlled manner.

"Ah!" exclaimed North. "He is nervous of our company?"

"What?" asked Bunny sceptically. "Frostbite doesn't _get_ nervous – otherwise he wouldn't be so irritating!"

"Maybe…" Tooth began tentatively. "Maybe he's just not used to company? He has been alone for a long time."

"Three centuries," North agreed. "But how can we make him feel welcome here?"

Bunny snorted. "Who cares?"

Tooth opened her mouth to argue, but one look at Bunny's face told her that he was only protesting for the sake of it. He obviously cared about Jack as much as the rest of them.

"So what should we do?" she asked instead.

The four of them looked at each other for a minute, contemplating the best course of action.

Suddenly, Sandy put his hand up, with a light bulb over his head. The others looked over to him, North inclining his head to indicate they were paying attention.

A question mark, followed by a crescent moon appeared. The others looked surprised.

"We should ask the Man in the Moon?" Bunny translated.

They thought about it for a moment, before North nodded. "Yes. Manny will know what to do."

"He doesn't usually have anything to do with this sort of thing," Tooth commented.

Bunny shrugged. "Might as well try."

The centuries-old Guardians of Childhood made their way to the room with the skylight.

North stood before the circular glass window, arms raised. "Manny," he began. "We need help – how can we help Jack to fit in here?"

For a few minutes, nothing happened. Bunny sighed, and made to turn around, when they saw an ethereal moonbeam cut through the air. On the floor, a spot was highlighted, and from it emerged a small crystal. Despite not having been used to communicate across the atmosphere for at least two decades, the stone gleamed brightly. Through the smooth outer casing, cracks in the rock made swirling patterns not dissimilar to Jack's frost.

Above the gem, mist swirled, the moonlight giving it a silver glow. Gradually, the mist cleared, and the Guardians could see the beginnings of a shape beneath it.

"A castle?" Tooth frowned.

And sure enough, the mist had formed the shape of a huge castle, with classic turrets and bridges framed by braziers of fire.

North raised an eyebrow. "I recognise that place." He thought for a moment. "An… acquaintance of mine, Albus Dumbledore, teaches there. I believe it's called 'Hogwarts'."

"A school?"

Bunny's question was met with a shrug. "I assume that attending school will get Jack well acquainted with people. And if it's Hogwarts, he's unlikely to stand out."

Tooth cocked her head. "How come?"

Once again, Sandy waved his arms, but this time no one paid attention.

"It's school of magic," North explained. "They're used to strange things."

Bunny grinned at North calling Jack strange, but decided not to comment. He was distracted by a sharp pain in his arm, and he looked down to see Sandy, fist curled.

Realising he had the pooka's attention, Sandy pointed vigorously back to the image. Bunny looked back at it, to see the picture changing. It blurred, as though zooming through the castle walls, and focussed on the figure of a boy, about fifteen.

"I think I recognise him…" North muttered. "He looks like kid in Albus' newspaper… Harry Potter, I think."

"Do you think the Man in the Moon wants Jack to protect him?" asked Tooth. "I can't think of any other reason he'd be shown."

North clapped his huge hands together. "Sorted! Jack will go to Hogwarts and protect Harry Potter!"

Bunny crossed his arms. "We need more information than that, mate. How old does he have to be? How will people see him? How-"

"Enough!" responded North jovially. "Manny will sort all that out. I'll talk to Albus and get Jack admitted in right year."

"How long have we got?" asked Tooth.

"School starts in September," North explained. "So Jack would have to stay in England for few weeks to get himself ready… Meaning we have about two days."

"And we don't actually know where Jack is," Bunny pointed out.

At that point, there was a loud smash, followed by the tinkling of broken glass. The four Guardians' heads snapped up to the window, shielding their faces from the falling glass.

"Uh… Hi?" Jack grinned sheepishly. His hoodie was coated in the dust from the broken window, making it shimmer even more than usual.

"Well, Bunny, I think that solves your problem," North grinned.

"Sorry I'm late, I was – hey, who's that?" Jack pointed at the figure of Harry.

Bunny, Tooth and Sandy looked at North. He sighed. "Very well, I will explain. Jack, we need you to protect this boy."

Jack shrugged. "Okay, what from?"

There was a pause. "We're… We're not quite sure."

Jack looked at them disbelievingly. "Seriously?"

"Anyway," North coughed. "You will guard him in secret, by attending his school."

The winter spirit's eyes widened. "School? But…" He bit his lip. "People won't be able to see me."

North smiled. "No worries, Manny will take care of that. We will send you tomorrow."

Jack had a panicked look on his face. "But..." he began again, looking at them as though wondering whether voice his thoughts. "That involves lots of reading and writing, doesn't it?"

The others were confused, not really noticing his expression.

"Well, yeah," said Tooth. "Is that an issue?"

"Um… I…" Jack looked at them nervously, wondering if they'd laugh at him. "I-never-learnt-how-to," he said in one breath.

North and Bunny exchanged confused glances. "Wha-"

"Oh, Jack!" Tooth exclaimed. Apparently her speed as part hummingbird extended to her being able to understand fast speech. "That's fine, we'll help you."

"Tell you what," North began, since he still had no idea what Jack had said, but it was clear it embarrassed him. "You get some rest for tomorrow, and we'll sort everything out."

Jack looked between them and sighed. "Okay." He walked to the door, and one of the yetis led him away.

"So what was that about, Tooth?" Bunny asked curiously.

"Jack never learnt to read and write," the fairy explained.

North smiled. "No problem! I'll ask Albus if he can help."

A noise like a steam train interrupted them. They turned to see Sandy with steam coming out of his ears. Using his silent language that the others had long since adapted to, he told them his concerns.

"You think Jack will feel like we've abandoned him?" Tooth questioned. "I see what you mean, but-"

"But if Manny wants him there, it must be good," North finished.

Although he didn't say it, Sandy wondered how 'good' the Man in the Moon's decision to leave Jack alone for so long was.

"Anyway," Bunny added. "Frostbite will enjoy himself, and he'll get used to people again."

With their decision seemingly made, the four returned to their duties and homes for the night.

Lying awake in North's guest bedroom, Jack stared at the ceiling. A lone tear slid down his cheek, before freezing to his skin.

Absently pulling it away, Jack whispered to himself, "Why are they sending me away?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, here's the second chapter. I'm thinking of uploading all the chapters already written as one a day, and the others whenever they get finished. I'll warn you now, I'm not setting an update schedule, 'cos all I do is fail to meet it. It'll be updated when it is.**

**Thanks to bug349 for reviewing Chapter One - this chapter is now dedicated to you :D**

**Enjoy!**

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The next morning saw the Guardians gathered under the (now broken) skylight. Although North, Tooth and Sandy looked excited about what was coming, the others didn't share their sentiments. Bunny looked relatively bored, as though this happened every day. Meanwhile Jack looked incredibly nervous, although he was hiding it well.

The Guardian of Fun was stood over his image on the floor, waiting for the Man in the Moon to make him visible. Despite his nerves, he couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of being _seen_. He gazed up at the moon, which was always visible from the pole, in expectation.

With no warning whatsoever, he found himself blinded by bright white light. It surrounded him in its misty glow, making his skin tingle. He was dimly aware of the others talking around him, but he couldn't tell what they were saying. Just as the light was getting too much to bear, it shut off.

"Whoa…" he muttered. "What… What just happened?"

"I think Manny just made you visible," North told him.

Jack looked down at his hands, examining them as though something must have changed. After all, being visible was a life-altering event, yet his body didn't seem any different.

"We're going to drop you off in London today," Tooth told him excitedly. "And then you can stay with the people you'll be at school with!"

The teenager felt his heart clench at those words, anticipating the loneliness he knew was coming. Although he hated to admit it, he'd become attached to the Guardians in the five months since their battle with Pitch. He found himself appreciating all their annoying habits, as though they were his family. Even Bunny – although he'd never say that aloud.

"And one of the ladies staying there – Molly Weasley, I think it was – will be able to help teach you how to read and write. Apparently she home-schooled all her children."

Looking at their sincere faces, Jack couldn't help but feel they were somehow mocking him. "I can read and write!" he objected. "Just not very well..."

Tooth's face fell. "We don't mind Jack, honestly. It doesn't make any difference to us."

He gave her a small smile. "If you say so…"

"Off to sleigh!" North proclaimed, shattering the emotional moment.

Jack felt himself being grabbed by the huge man and dragged towards the sleigh room.

"Hey!" he cried. "I can walk, you know!"

North just laughed and continued to drag the spirit down the halls. Once he reached the sleigh, he clapped for the yetis to bring out the reindeer. Snorting and rearing, the beasts were led to their places and attached to the sleigh.

"Everyone in!" he proclaimed.

Wrenching himself from North's grip, Jack jumped into the sleigh eagerly, followed by Tooth and Sandy. Bunny looked apprehensively at the sleigh.

"Uh… I'll meet you there, mate-" he began, but North's booming laugh cut him off.

"You don't even know where we going!" He reached out and grabbed Bunny, flinging him unceremoniously into the back.

Jack snickered at Bunny as he dug his claws into the woodwork. "Scared, Cottontail?"

"Ah, shut up Frostbite."

Without any hesitation, the Guardian of Wonder raised the reigns, bringing them down and sending the reindeer running down the tunnel. Jack laughed aloud as they began looping around icicles, spending more than half the time upside-down. The cold air rushed past him, forcing his permanently messy hair to smooth out across his head. Looking behind him he could see Tooth and Sandy grinning, and Bunny holding on for dear life.

All of a sudden, the rush of air stopped, accompanied by a slight feeling of weightlessness. Gazing around, Jack realised they'd left the ice tunnel, and were now soaring through the arctic air. There was no wind to so much as ruffle his hair, but he knew they were moving far faster than any airplane could.

Below him, he saw that they were now crossing the Arctic Ocean. He could make out grey shapes rising and falling from the water, and smiled. Even if he couldn't fully see them, he knew they were dolphins, like the ones Sandy's dream sand would always make for him.

After only a minute or two, land appeared beneath them. Jack recognised it from his travels as the tip of Norway. He sighed. They were nearly there. He guessed only Bunny would be pleased about leaving the sleigh.

He looked up at the morning sky as he felt them begin to descend over England. In a way, he should be excited. Not only was he going to be in England in August – which was unheard of – but people would be able to see him. He might even make friends. But he wondered whether it was worth leaving all the Guardians and Jamie.

_Stop it,_ he told himself. _You're here to protect a child. Just do your job and you can go home._

"We're here," North announced, pulling Jack from his thoughts. He looked up, past the obviously relieved Bunny, and to a row of houses. He felt a little disappointed. He was told it was a school of magic, so why did the houses look so normal? Although Number 12 did look a little creepy compared to the others.

"Ah!" came a voice from near them. Jack turned to see an old man, looking older than North, although he was fairly sure that wasn't possible, walking towards them. The man seemed completely unaware of the sleigh, fairy, giant rabbit or golden man beside them, instead focussed solely on North and Jack.

"Nice to see you again, Nicholas," he said, smiling. "And this must be Jack?"

Jack nodded. "Nice to meet you." He felt strange, being so polite, but something about the man seemed important enough to warrant it.

"I am Albus Dumbledore, a good friend of your uncle," the man told him.

_Uncle?_ Jack wondered, but decided not to comment. If North had lied to get him in, he wasn't going to ruin it.

"But we should talk more inside. Here," he handed Jack a slip of paper. "Read this."

Jack looked down and read. _The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._ He looked at it in confusion. What was the Order of the Phoenix? And why did he need to know where it was?

Dumbledore, seeing that he had finished, took the paper off him. "Now we can go inside."

Jack and North were led to Number 12, the others following behind. Taking a quick look to his companion, Jack was somewhat relieved to notice that he looked as confused as Jack felt. He had to niggling feeling that they weren't supposed to be able to see the house until they read the note, but that just led to more questions.

Dumbledore pushed open the door, motioning for them to be quiet. They tiptoed along the corridor – or at least, tried. North more shuffled along, attempting to be quiet.

They had almost made it to the single black door at the end when it happened. North sidestepped to avoid a coat hook on the wall, and stumbled back into a cabinet, making it knock into the wall loudly, the sound echoing through the house. Almost immediately, the curtains over a portrait near Jack's head flew open. An inhuman screeching filled the area, and Jack clutched his ears. He didn't know whether it was just his proximity, but he couldn't make out a word it said. All he could hear was the noise. He felt a hand on his shoulder, gently pushing him out the way, and then it stopped.

He looked up to see a man with messy black hair panting, a wooden stick in his hand pointed at the now closed curtains. Someone said something to him, but his ears were still ringing. After a few moments, his hearing seemed to clear.

"Are you alright?" A woman was stood in front of him. Something about her had a motherly feel, and he assumed this was the Molly Weasley Tooth had mentioned.

"Yeah," he gave a grin. "I'm fine. What was that?"

"Nothing important," she told him, obviously relieved. "Come and sit down, and we'll get you a drink."

He found himself being led into a kitchen with a huge table in the middle. At the woman's gesture, he sat himself down on the wooden bench. If the sudden bending of the wood underneath him was anything to go by, North had just sat beside him. Dumbledore sat opposite, and about four other people sat around them. Tooth, Bunny and Sandy had seemingly realised that they couldn't be seen and stood awkwardly in the corner.

"What drinks would everyone like?" probably-Molly-Weasley asked the group.

"Just a coffee please, Molly," Dumbledore said, and everyone nodded.

"Can I just have water, please?" Jack asked.

Molly looked at him in surprise. "But it's so cold this time of year! Are you sure you don't want a hot chocolate?"

Jack inwardly shuddered at the mention of the hot drink. "No thanks."

As Molly turned her back to them to begin preparing drinks, Dumbledore turned to Jack and North. "I believe introductions are in order. As you know, I am Albus Dumbledore. This," he gestured to Molly, "is Molly Weasley."

The man with shaggy dark hair from before took this as his cue. "I'm Sirius Black." Jack exchanged glances with North at this. Black, as in Pitch Black?

The person next to him, a man with scruffy clothes looking almost as pale as Jack, but without the abundant energy, went next. "I'm Remus Lupin."

A third man curled his lip when it was evident it was his turn. "Severus Snape."

The last person left, a cheerful looking woman with bright pink hair smiled at them. "And I'm Tonks."

Jack wondered why she only had one name, but, then again, he used to have two surnames, so he couldn't really comment.

"Well I'm Nicholas North," said the booming voice beside him, only stumbling slightly on the missing out of the 'Saint'.

"Uh…" began Jack, aware that all eyes were on him – and very uncomfortable about it. "I'm Jack Frost."

"Like the myth?" asked Lupin curiously.

Jack attempted a grin. "Yeah." He held his breath, waiting for someone to become suspicious, but they just shrugged it off.

"Cool name," said Sirius.

Molly came over with the drinks, and handed them out. Jack took a quick sip of the water, cautious not to hold it for too long. He didn't need a glass of ice right now.

Dumbledore looked round at his group's faces before turning to North. "I think it would be useful if you explained why Jack and yourself are here to the others. Now, however, I must take my leave."

"Aren't you staying for lunch?" asked Molly.

Dumbledore smiled. "I'm afraid not. I have a lot of preparing to do for this year."

After the man had left, everyone's eyes turned to North. He sighed. "A few days ago, my sister told me that she wanted to send Jack here to a better school. I already knew Dumbledore, so I asked if Jack could go to Hogwarts, and he agreed. We were told that Jack could stay here until school began to get used to England."

"Ah, yes," Molly said. "Dumbledore told me that there was a new student in Ron's year. He also said I was to give him lessons?"

Jack's cheeks turned slightly blue. "Uh… yeah."

"Don't be embarrassed dear," Molly told him.

"Well," North coughed. "I'll be taking my leave now as well." He turned to Jack. "Goodbye, I'm sure I'll see you for the next holiday."

North turned around and began to leave, the other Guardians following. Before they reached the door to the corridor, however, Jack called after them.

"Bye!"

They turned and smiled. Tooth gave a small wave before they walked out to the corridor, considerably more cautious than before.

As the door swung shut, Jack resumed his seat at the table. For some reason, he felt a pang of loneliness with their absence. _Don't be silly,_ he told himself. _You've been without them for centuries; a few months won't make much difference._

As much as he wanted that to be true, he knew that he'd bonded enough with the Guardians that these next months would be worse than the past three hundred years. That is, unless he made friends with some of the kids – who could _see_ him! – at this school.

Lupin glanced at the clock. "It's nearly ten o'clock. The kids should be down soon."

Jack felt nervous. He wasn't exactly used to meeting new people – most of the time they couldn't even see him anyway.

"I'm sure you'll all be good friends!" Molly told him cheerfully.

He could hear the thundering of footsteps on the stairs now, no doubt eager for their breakfast. Then the twist of the doorknob, and it swung open.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, this is the last chapter I have prewritten - although hopefully the fourth will be done soon. It's already longer than chapters 1 and 2 combined, but I can't seem to just end it.**

**Thanks to Kagirinai-Eternal, bug349 and Tzintzuntzintzan for reviewing.**

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"Come _on_, Hermione!"

Hermione Granger sighed at the insistent voice of her friend. "Just a minute Ronald!"

She looked around for her hairbrush, dragging it through her curly brown hair. _You would think that he'd be able to go down for _breakfast_ himself at fifteen… _she thought.

Once she'd finished, she gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror before turning to the door.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed dramatically. "I'm _starving_!"

"Well you could always go eat by yourself!" she snapped, although it held little anger.

"And have the whole Order glare at me when I interrupt their morning meeting?" Ron grimaced.

"Fine," she sighed. "I guess you have a point there."

He smiled and grabbed her arm. Pulling her behind him, he practically charged down the stairs. Along the way, the twins and Ginny joined them, and Hermione couldn't help but compare the noise they were making to a herd of stampeding elephants.

A flight of steps from the ground floor, they all stopped, and began to tiptoe. None of them wanted to wake up Mrs Black this early in the morning.

Ron grabbed the door handle and eased it open quietly. They all stepped into the kitchen, and George – or maybe Fred – shut the door behind them. They all let out a breath.

"Good morning, dears!" Mrs Weasley said.

"Mornin' mum," Ron said. "What's for break- wait, who's that?"

Hermione and the others followed his pointing finger, and their gaze rested on a boy sat at the table. He looked to be in his teens, although it was hard to tell where, and wore a blue hoodie. But what shocked Hermione most was his hair. Not only was it far messier than Harry's – a feat she had previously deemed impossible – but it was snow white in colour.

"Hi," he said, slightly nervously. "I'm Jack."

Hermione moved her gaze from his hair to his ice blue eyes.

Jack was more than slightly unnerved. He honestly hadn't expected there to be _five_ teenagers in the house. One or two at most. And they just stared at him. The older girl (at least, he assumed she was older) seemed transfixed by his hair.

"Hi," he said, trying not to let his nerves show in his voice. "I'm Jack."

At least that meant she was staring at his hair anymore. But he figured this was worse. Now she was looking straight into his eyes. He looked to the side self-consciously, and she seemed to snap out of it.

"I'm Hermione. This," she gestured to the youngest boy beside her, with flaming hair and freckles, "is Ron. The two over there are Fred and George, the twins, and the girl is Ginny."

Jack looked at each of them as they were introduced. Judging by their red hair, they were Molly's children. But Hermione was a brunette, and she didn't seem to fit the family dynamic he could see in the others, so he figured she was a friend.

"Jack will be going to Hogwarts with you this year," Molly explained.

Hermione looked confused. "But he looks too old to be a first year."

"He'll actually be starting fifth year with you, Ron and Harry," Molly told her. "So I expect you all to take care of him."

Jack felt his cheeks turn blue again. He really wasn't used to being treated like a little kid, and wasn't sure he liked it that much.

Hermione nodded, and smiled at him. "Where did you go to school before then?"

"Um…" Jack tried to remember the school North had mentioned. "Salem Witches Institute."

"Really?" Hermione asked, surprised. "I thought that was an all-girls school."

"Nah," he said, he remembered North saying something about this. "It was when they set it up, but about ten years ago they started accepting boys as well. Lucky really, otherwise I'd have had to go really far away."

Hermione seemed curious, but thankfully Ron provided a distraction. "So what _is_ for breakfast?"

"Just toast this morning," Molly told him. "I haven't had time to cook anything." She brought over a breadboard piled high with toast, and a butter dish next to it.

Jack looked at the pile sceptically. He knew there were five people eating, but _that_ much food? His thoughts were quickly proved wrong when the three boys practically attacked the food. He couldn't believe how fast they were eating. The girls were more refined, but even they were consuming about four slices each.

"Jack, dear, don't you want any?" asked Molly.

"No thanks," he smiled. "I ate before we came here." Okay, that was a lie. But there was no way he was willingly going to eat hot food.

Molly opened her mouth to comment, but was cut off by a flash. An ethereal shape formed before her, some sort of bird, Jack guessed.

"Dementor attack," Jack jumped when Dumbledore's voice came from the bird, although its beak didn't move. "Expect Harry tonight."

The bird evaporated, the mist swirling upwards. There was a few seconds of silence, before the room exploded. Everyone began talking at once, while Jack watched on in silence. He wondered what a dementor was, and who Harry could be.

_Wait a second, wasn't that the name of the kid I'm supposed to protect?_ Jack nearly slammed his head on the table. The kid had been attacked already?

"Okay, calm down," Molly told the children, who looked pretty panicked. Jack guessed these dementors must be pretty scary. "All of you go upstairs. Show Jack around. He'll be sharing with you and Harry." This last part was directed at Ron.

He nodded distractedly, and grabbed Ginny's arm. "Come on, Harry will be fine." Although his tone was gruff, Jack could tell he was comforting his sister – older brother's instinct, probably.

He followed Ron, Ginny and Hermione up the stairs, looking around him in slightly creeped-out wonder. The house was disturbing enough to be Pitch's lair. The thought had him subconsciously avoiding the shadows cast by the mounted… elf?... heads on the walls. Everything was covered in dust, and as he looked, the ornaments seemed to get more random. From elf heads they progressed to grandfather clocks, then rickety writing desks and framed letters in what looked to be blood. He shuddered. And here he thought these people were normal – well, maybe that was a lie, but he certainly didn't think they'd be as strange as this.

Ginny seemed to notice his staring. "We didn't decorate," she said, making him jump. "But there's some sort of charm so we can't take any of it down."

He nodded, slightly consoled that he wasn't sharing a house with people who beheaded giant elves (as the heads themselves were bigger than any of North's elves).

They reached a corridor a few floors up, and Ron led him to a door on the left. "This is our room," he told Jack.

Jack pushed open the door and looked around. There were two beds, which had been shoved closer together to allow room for a camp bed on the floor. The bed in the corner had its sheets piled up, and a small dent on the pillow, so Jack assumed it was Ron's.

"You can pick whichever you'd like," said Ron.

Jack looked at the comfy bed for a minute. It had been so long since he'd slept in an actual bed. He took a step towards it, then stopped. Judging by his reaction earlier, Ron was obviously Harry's friend, maybe best friend. It would be unfair – and awkward – to separate them with himself. He moved instead to the camp bed, before realising he had nothing to put down. All he owned was his staff, and there was no way he'd leave that on the bed.

"I'll take the camp bed," he told Ron, and was pleased to see the happiness on his face – evidently he _was_ Harry's best friend. He was also relieved that Ron hadn't asked about his lack of belongings. He knew North was sending him some school equipment at some point, and other than that he didn't really need anything.

Ron shifted awkwardly, clearly at a loss for something to say.

Jack decided to relieve him. "So, about that tour…"

That afternoon, the tension in the kitchen was palpable. While Molly was cooking, the children and Sirius sat around the table. The other adults had all left at some point during the day to do… Well to do something. Jack couldn't tell what, even when reading between the magical jargon they all used. He had heard that Molly's husband was coming at some point in the evening, but couldn't be sure when. They all seemed more worried about Harry.

Jack wondered why the Man in the Moon had told him to protect the kid. After all, Harry Potter seemed to have plenty of people to look after him, far more than a lot of children in the world.

"Dinner's ready!" Molly proclaimed, trying to break the tension. One look at everyone else told Jack she'd failed in that. She set down a huge pot of steaming soup in the middle of the table. She spooned a large amount into each of eight bowls, and handed them to everyone.

Around him, everyone dug in. Jack, however, stared at his. How was he going to get out of eating it? Unless…

He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then grasped his staff and blew on the soup. Judging by the sudden lack of steam, he'd successfully cooled it. He took an experimental sip. Not quite frozen, but close enough.

He noticed Molly look up at the ancient clock over the stove. "Quickly! There's a meeting in ten minutes!" she hurried them up.

Jack quickly swallowed the rest of his soup, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in his throat at the warmth. The rest of the children were already standing, and once Jack finished Ron and Hermione led them to the boys' room. He sat on his camp bed as the other teenagers discussed Harry.

He drew pictures in frost absentmindedly under Harry's bed, where no one would notice them. He wasn't sure how long he'd been there, but if the number of drawings were anything to go by, a good half hour.

He was interrupted by the sound of screaming from downstairs. Although it was quite muffled, his ears throbbed in sympathy for everyone in the kitchen.

Then there was the sound of people coming up the stairs, footsteps getting steadily louder. Looking over at Ron and Hermione, he could see they hadn't noticed. Then again, his hearing _was_ more sensitive than that of a human – maybe not on Bunny's level, but still far superior to his roommates'.

The door was pushed open, and he looked up, but was unable to see anything before his view was obstructed by Hermione.

"Harry!"


End file.
